Talmadge Baldwin
Commissioner Talmadge Baldwin was a suspect in the murder investigations of four individuals, alongside making minor appearances in two other cases, before being murdered in Hold Your Tongue (Case #33 of Mysteries of the Past). Profile Talmadge was the 43-year-old commissioner for the Concordian Police Department. He had graying black hair and facial hair, and sported a black bowler hat. He donned a navy blue blazer with the CPD badge over a white shirt, red tie, and granite gray vest. In his first suspect appearance, it is known Talmadge used cocaine toothache drops, played dice games and drove an automobile. In his second suspect appearance, it is discovered that he was a marksman, used hair pomade and wore perfume. In his third suspect appearance, it is revealed that he knew how to shoot and ate hot dogs. In his fourth suspect appearance, it is noted that he ate cotton candy, rode hot air balloons and used chloral hydrate. Events of Criminal Case In the Line of Fire Talmadge was first spoken to by the player and Maddie when they were told he was making a speech that he wants to hunt down Otis' killer. After his speech, he told the team he was interested in the crime not only because the victim was a hero, but he was also engaged to his daughter. When asked if they could speak with her, Talmadge refused saying his daughter was devastated and should not be disturbed at this time. Talmadge was spoken to again about a letter he sent to the victim with money and a threatening message. He said the victim was a crook, who pretended to be a hero all the while he ran an illegal gambling ring; and although the victim fooled his daughter, he was not. Maddie pointed out how bad it looked that he payed the victim off, but Talmadge said he would do anything to protect his daughter. Talmadge was later found innocent after the team incarcerated Billy Thompson for Otis' murder. But the team had to speak with him again about the fingerprints they collected from a kerosene can that started the fire. He said he would allow them to look through the archive, though he doubted it would be useful since as of then, it only had the police officer's prints. Maddie decided they would take their chances, so they searched the police station to find the records. In the Name of the Father Talmadge became a suspect again after the player and Maddie found his broken pocket watch at the crime scene. He had heard of Father Donovan's death already, but believed it was a train accident. But he refused to believe it was a murder, and told the team to stop imagining murders. Even when Maddie said they had evidence of a murder, he still refused to hear them out and advised them to end this talk of murder. Talmadge was spoken to again about a receipt to remove a gun from the evidence room, the same gun that was used to kill Donovan. He explained he had some friends who wanted to see a gun that was actually used in a murder. Since he felt he could be trusted around weapons, he saw no reason why he should not take it out. However, he ended up losing the weapon at the party he went to, but he informed them that pointing out his errors would ensure their stay would not be pleasant. Later, Chief Wright informed the player and Maddie that the Commissioner was arresting them for insubordination due to not dropping the case. Despite his warnings of arrest, Talmadge was found to be innocent after the team incarcerated Edward Whimple for Donovan's murder, the illegal trafficking of immigrants, and arson. Later the team had to give him the full investigation report, and he was pleased with what they accomplished. Though Maddie was mad that they could not do more to Oscar Trefusis other than fine him, Talmadge said her opinions of the rich would change once they heard what Chief Wright had to say. Since their success was noticed up high, Arthur informed the team they were invited to a party, which was among the greatest society events of the year. The Talking Dead After Isaac and the player apprehended Diego del Lobo for theft and forgery, Talmadge scolded the team for making far too much of Mr Alastor's parties, considering them to be merely entertainment for the upper class, who were not to be troubled. Later, Chief Wright heard of this, and warned the player that Talmadge did not approve of them pursuing this line of investigation. Out of Steam Talmadge once again became a suspect after an old photograph of him and the victim was found. He said that he and Orville were old buddies, having grown up in the same neighborhood. They also played on the same fencing team and did everything together. However, they drifted apart in the last few years but Talmadge was looking forward to seeing Orville before he was murdered. He then demanded the player to find Orville's murderer and bring them to justice. Talmadge was spoken to again regarding the cameo pendant that Evie had identified to have been given to his wife from the victim. He corrected them, saying that Eliza was his estranged wife as she moved away after what she had done. Talmadge couldn't believe that Orville would send his wife such a gaudy piece of jewelry and was furious when he had discovered his affair with her. He soon found out, despite Orville and Eliza thinking that he would not. Talmadge was later found innocent after the team incarcerated Abe Mullins for Orville's murder. The Higher You Rise Talmadge became a suspect once again after Isaac and the player found his VIP pin, granting special access to the Exhibition Tower, where Celine was pushed to her death. As Isaac was explaining, Talmadge stopped him saying he had had enough of them accusing him of murder all the time, ever since New Haven. He made sure to warn them to tread carefully, considering who they were dealing with. Talmadge was spoken to again about a postcard written by one of the competition finalists to a relative of his, one Alex Baldwin. He said the message was about his brother, who had signed a contract with Spark Industries, and plans to manufacture the Exo-Suit should Stanley Spark win. But family connections aside, Talmadge thought all of Concordia would benefit from the suit, given what it is capable of. Talmadge was found innocent once again after the team incarcerated Eleanor Halsted for Celine's murder and sabotaging the inventions. But he was later given a report by the player and Chief Wright regarding the full extent of Chief Inspector Halsted's corruption. He was glad at the results of the player's job, and at the team discovering Eleanor received bribes from a gangster named Mad Dog, on top of the bribes she received from Stanley Spark to sabotage the competition. Arthur believed their next step was to find Mad Dog, and Talmadge agreed, saying they should search Sinner's End since it had been under Irish control for some time. Civil Blood Shortly after the closing of Mario Fortuna's murder investigation, Evie informed the player that Talmadge had been found murdered on the docks. Murder details Talmadge was found on the docks with his skull split open and his tongue cut off. Per Dick, Talmadge died when his killer struck him in the head with a curved chopping blade. The killer also cut the victim's tongue off post-mortem, but in doing so left traces of medicine for smoke allergy, leading Dick to deduce that the killer was allergic to factory fumes. At the shipyard, the team found an adze, which (per Rose) had Talmadge's blood, hence being filed as the murder weapon. Rose also found seagull guano on the handle, which meant that the killer had a seagull guano stain. Relationship with suspects Talmadge's daughter, Adelia, had gotten pregnant with Otis' baby, discovering her pregnancy after his death. Outraged that she had gotten pregnant out of wedlock, Talmadge arranged for her to be sent to St Cuthburga's where she would be held until the baby was born and forced to give it up. Influential businessman Horatio Rochester made an arrangement with him to speed up the paperwork to release his ship from the shipyard, but Talmadge failed to uphold his end of the arrangement. One of Horatio's workers, former Irish gangster Eamon Gilligan, was threatened by Talmadge, who threatened to inform Horatio about his past. Talmadge was a regular frequenter of The Concordian Pause, a café owned by Reggie Bates. However, he threatened to have the café shut down, claiming that Reggie was spiking the drinks with alcohol. Another of the cafe's frequenters, Italian woman Giulietta Capecchi, was badgered by Talmadge, who pined for her affections. Killer and motives The killer turned out to be Reggie. Reggie tried to deny the accusations but then admitted to the crime. He saw Baldwin spying on the Italian gang, who had taken care of him when his parents died. To protect his people, Reggie smashed the Commissioner in the head with an adze and then cut his tongue off. Judge Lawson sentenced him to life in jail without the possibility of parole. Trivia *Talmadge is one of the characters to appear as a suspect in four cases. *Talmadge is one of the characters to physically appear in three districts in Mysteries of the Past. Case appearances *In the Line of Fire (Case #3 of Mysteries of the Past) *A Murder Carol (Case #4 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned) *Shear Murder (Case #5 of Mysteries of the Past) *In the Name of the Father (Case #6 of Mysteries of the Past) *The Talking Dead (Case #8 of Mysteries of the Past) *Sweet Revenge (Case #9 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned) *Out of Steam (Case #15 of Mysteries of the Past) *The Higher You Rise (Case #18 of Mysteries of the Past) *Civil Blood (Case #32 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned) *Hold Your Tongue (Case #33 of Mysteries of the Past) *Stick to Your Guns (Case #34 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned) *In Love and War (Case #36 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned) *Death Comes to Lunch (Case #37 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned) *Turn for the Worse (Case #46 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned) *One Dead More (Case #57 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned) Gallery TBaldwinAppMOTP.png|Talmadge, as he appeared in In the Line of Fire (Case #3 of Mysteries of the Past), In the Name of the Father (Case #6 of Mysteries of the Past), Out of Steam (Case #15 of Mysteries of the Past), and The Higher You Rise (Case #18 of Mysteries of the Past). TBaldwinMOTPMiC176.png|Talmadge, as he appeared in Shear Murder (Case #5 of Mysteries of the Past). TBaldwinMOTPMiC179.png|Talmadge, as he appeared in The Talking Dead (Case #8 of Mysteries of the Past). Talmadge_Baldwin_Body.png|Talmadge's body. RBatesBarsMOTP.png|Reggie Bates, Talmadge's killer. ABaldwinMOTP.png|Adelia Baldwin, Talmadge's daughter. EbaldwinAppMOTP.png|Eliza Baldwin, Talmadge's wife. File:Adelia-Case204-14.png|Paris Baldwin, Talmadge's grandson being held by his mother. OG_SUS_403_602.jpg OG_SUS_406_602.jpg OG_SUS_415_603.jpg OG_SUS_418_602.jpg Navigation Category:Criminal Case Category:Characters Category:Suspects Category:Victims Category:Concordian Police Department personnel